BISD veteran Allen to take over as superintendent

By Haley Bruyn

Updated
8:32 am CDT, Thursday, April 18, 2019

Shannon Allen, center, was voted in as Beaumont Independent School District's newest superintendent in a five to zero vote during Wednesday afternoon's board meeting. One abstention was made by Alexandrew Seale. Allen talks to A.B. Bernard, right, and Nathan Cross after the meeting. Photo taken Wednesday, 4/17/19 less

Shannon Allen, center, was voted in as Beaumont Independent School District's newest superintendent in a five to zero vote during Wednesday afternoon's board meeting. One abstention was made by Alexandrew ... more

Photo: Drone Image: Guiseppe Barranco/The Enterprise, Photo Editor

Photo: Drone Image: Guiseppe Barranco/The Enterprise, Photo Editor

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Shannon Allen, center, was voted in as Beaumont Independent School District's newest superintendent in a five to zero vote during Wednesday afternoon's board meeting. One abstention was made by Alexandrew Seale. Allen talks to A.B. Bernard, right, and Nathan Cross after the meeting. Photo taken Wednesday, 4/17/19 less

Shannon Allen, center, was voted in as Beaumont Independent School District's newest superintendent in a five to zero vote during Wednesday afternoon's board meeting. One abstention was made by Alexandrew ... more

Photo: Drone Image: Guiseppe Barranco/The Enterprise, Photo Editor

BISD veteran Allen to take over as superintendent

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Educator Shannon Allen, a Beaumont native who came up through the ranks of its public schools, on Wednesday was announced as the new superintendent of Beaumont ISD.

Allen will be the first woman to hold the position when she takes over July 1. She will replace John Frossard, who retired.

Allen, 45, will earn a minimum of $229,000 per year. Her salary is still being negotiated, a BISD lawyer said.

After Frossard announced in February that he was leaving, the School Board posted the job internally. It concluded the search before bringing in any outside candidates. Allen was the only applicant; on March 27, she was identified as the sole finalist.

The Wednesday afternoon vote formalizing the offer was 5-0, with board member Alexandrew Seale abstaining. Seale, who was appointed by the governing board of managers and is now running for the at-large seat held by Denise Wallace Spooner, did not explain his decision to not join the majority.

Allen, 45, said she wants young girls in the community to be encouraged by her success in the school system where she had been educated herself.

“I hope I can be an inspiration to other young ladies coming up in BISD,” she said after the vote.

“The fact that I get to work in the community where I grew up, where I went to school, it’s just simply amazing,” she added. “I feel like jumping for joy.”

Board president A.B. Bernard said he thinks the board made the right decision.

“I think Dr. Allen is going to do exceptionally well and I look forward to her leadership,” he said

In an interview with The Enterprise last month, Allen said she could “provide a level of stability that the district needs right now.” Over the last 22 years in BISD, she has been a teacher, assistant principal, principal, assistant superintendent and associate superintendent.

Allen attended Vincent Middle and West Brook High schools, then majored in biology at Prairie View A&M University. She returned to BISD as a substitute teacher in 1996 and was offered a contract the next year to teach science at Ozen High School.

She has a master’s degree from Lamar University and obtained her Doctorate in Educational Leadership there in 2013.

Allen credited Frossard for progress in the district and in her professional career as well.

“He has provided me with so many opportunities to stretch and grow my leadership skills that have impacted the district in a positive way,” she said.

She said that experience will make her effective from Day 1.

“We will not have any lag time under my leadership because I know the programs, the system, the structure - there is no learning curve for me,” she said.

Allen, who is married to Phillip “Red” Allen, also has a lot of experience with educators.

“My husband is a professional artist, actually, but he’s also an educator,” she said. “My father-in-law was a superintendent for many years, my mother-in-law was a teacher, my sister is a teacher, my husband’s sister is a teacher, my brother-in-law in a teacher. So I come from a family of educators.”

The biggest challenge Allen said she will face is changing perceptions about BISD’s leadership and the district as a whole. She said she hopes to attract families back into the school system. She said the community doesn’t fully understand the progress being made in the district and how hard the administration is working toward that goal.

“I recognize that is going to be a challenge because there are false perceptions about BISD,” Allen said.

Allen plans to continue partnerships between BISD and the city of Beaumont, Exxon Mobil and other local leaders.

“If Beaumont ISD improves the whole city of Beaumont will improve,” she said. “It’s not just about BISD, it’s about the city of Beaumont and where we want to go as a community.”